Neeman Stays on Top in Australia

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Congratulations to Jeremy Neeman, winner of Grand Prix Brisbane! After a battling through a talented and international Top 8, Neeman takes home his second Australian Grand Prix trophy in a row, following on from his victory in Sydney last year.

Jeremy Neeman, piloting Blue/Black control, narrowly beat out Tim Fondum, piloting G/W Tokens, in three tense games. Rounding out the Top 8 were Shouta Yasooka, Andreas Pranoto, Jacky Zhang, Luke Mulcahy, Daniel Unwin, and Hao-Shan Huang. Congratulations to all the Top 8 finalists, and once again to 'The' Jeremy Neeman, the Grand Prix Brisbane champion!

Huang's fourth turn was an impressive one, a Primeval Titan for a Kessig Wolf Run and an Inkmoth Nexus. But unfortunately, impressive because it looked like it wouldn't be anywhere near enough, as Fondum spread +1/+1 counters across his team, untapped and sent in the 4/5 Hero (plus two 1/1 Soldiers) , the 4/4 Golem Token, and the 2/2 Blade Splicer, with Mikaeus sitting at home, ready to lend a hand from a distance. Huang pondered his options, but basically just died.

Fondum attacked with the Hero and chums, and the Blade Splicer and Golem. Huang animated an Inkmoth Nexus, and holding that and the Simulacrum in each hand, leaned over the table to consider his blocks. He finally placed the Nexus in front of the Hero, and the Simulacrum in front of the Blade Splicer. Fondum sank all of his mana into his Gavony Township, and that was all he (as in me) wrote.

Tim Fondum defeats Hao-Shan Huang 2 – 0

(Okay, so I wrote that bit as well. And this bit.)

Quarterfinals - Luke Mulcahy Vs Dan Unwin

By Pip Hunn

Both players played out lands and passed, until Mulcahy summoned a Solemn Simulacrum, which was countered with a Mana Leak. Mulcahy found a problematic Thrun, the Last Troll, a card which Unwin had outlined earlier in an interview was a big challenge for his deck to deal with.

Mulcahy's next few threats were also counterspelled as Unwin tried to control the pace of their game. With piles of Doom Blades and Dissipates in his graveyard, Unwin's Snapcaster Mages started proving their worth, two-for-oneing Mulcahy's aggressive plays.

Unfortunately for Unwin, counterspells can't stop Inkmoth Nexus or Kessig Wolf Run. Mulcahy managed to use the dangerous land combination to poison Unwin to death, despite his life total being a healthy 36.

Mulcahy enjoys a bit of brute force.

Luke Mulcahy 1 – Dan Unwin 0

The second game started in a similar fashion, both players advancing their lands before attempting to land haymaker punches. Thrun, the Last Troll showed up again with his ability to trump countermagic, but Unwin had a Consecrated Sphinx, more than capable of blocking Thrun all day long.

Unwin casts a careful eye over his defenses.

Mulcahy switched gears and went for a Primeval Titan, fetching out some Kessig Wolf Runs. A trampling Thrun is much harder to deal with than a normal one, and Unwin couldn't find an answer in time.

Luke Mulcahy 2 – Dan Unwin 0

Quarterfinals - Shouta Yasooka vs Andreas Pranoto

By Pip Hunn

Shouta Yasooka vs Andreas Pranoto

Yasooka opened the game with an early Despise, showing a hand for Pranoto that had a great deal of ramp and an ugly top end in Garruk, Primal Hunter and Primeval Titan. Yasooka drew through his deck and found a Tezeret, Agent of Bolas.

While Yasooka struggled to hold off the ever-increasing horde of Beasts, Pranoto slowly worked Yasooka's poison total ever higher. Yasooka was forced to topdeck spells repeatedly to try and stem the bleeding, and his luck couldn't last forever.

Pranoto plays so hard, everything's a blur. That, and I couldn't get his hands to hold still long enough for a clean shot.

Yasooka cast his own Planeswalker, and Tezzeret animated a Ratchet Bomb and provided some aggression from the Japanese player. Yasooka found a Grave Titan, which finally proved enough to deal with Karn.

Pranoto went to reconstruct his board with a Green Sun's Zenith, finding a Thrun, the Last Troll. However even a shrouded regenerator wasn't enough to hold off Yasooka's growing Tezzeret and his army of 5/5 machines.

Yasooka topdecked a Wurmcoil Engine to stave off his impending death by Troll, and a Doom Blade in the nick of time to stop the Inkmoth Nexus. Both players drew blanks for a few turns, knocking the tops of their decks in a prayer to the Magic Gods for the winning card.

After a few false starts and heart-breaking slowrolls, the winning card turned out to be a Kessig Wolf Run for Pranoto, allowing Thrun to trample over Yasooka's blockers for the win.

Andreas Pranoto 2 – Shouta Yasooka 1

Semifinals - Tim Fondum vs. Luke Mulcahy

By Pip Hunn

Mulcahy took a mulligan to six, then – by the roar of the assembled crowd – drew the land he needed off the top to cast a Rampant Growth. Unfazed by his opponent's good luck, Fondum cast a Mortarpod.

Mulcahy attempts to incinerate Fondum's creatures with mind beams... Or so it seems.

Mulcahy kept swinging, and Fondum was forced to chump block with his Soldier tokens to stay out of reach of the flashbacked Devil's Play. The Play took out Elspeth after combat, and Fondum started to rebuild with a Garruk Relentless and a Blade Splicer. Mulcahy was left defenseless, and Fondum flashed his long-sandbagged Overrun to take the first game.

Both players kicked it up a gear, with Mulcahy summoning a Primeval Titan and Fondum a Geist-Honored Monk. Mulcahy's Titan roared into the red zone, and another joined it on Mulcahy's side of the battlefield. Fondum had an Elspeth Tirel to provide some Soldiers and pump his Geist-Honored Monk. When Mulcahy attacked with both Primeval Titans, a boatload of open mana, and a pair of Kessig Wolf Runs, the players entered the strange and terrible world of arithmetic.

After careful calculations, Fondum made some blocks. After the dust had settled, Mulcahy almost apologetically played a Wurmcoil Engine. Fondum snorted and picked up his cards.

Math is never fun.

Luke Mulcahy 1 – Tim Fondum 1

Fondum powered out an aggressive start with a Birds of Paradise into a Blade Splicer, followed by a Hero of Bladehold. Still on two lands, Mulcahy shook his head and played a Forest, still off Slagstorm mana... If he even had it. The next attack step was a big one, with Fondum's army swinging for 14. Smiling, Mulcahy showed the Slagstorm stranded in his hand.

Tim Fondum 2 – Luke Mulcahy 1

Semifinals - Jeremy Neeman vs Andreas Pranoto

By Ray "blisterguy" Walkinshaw

"Six Garruk's!" Neeman exclaimed as they perused each others decklists. "Seven," Pranoto corrected him with a smile, as he had a third Garruk Relentless in his sideboard.

Neeman tried so hard to best Pranoto's 5 on one D6, that his first two throws rolled right off the table. His third rolled a 1. Pranoto got things started with two Birds of Paradise, and a third turn Garruk Relentless. Neeman tried to suppress Pranoto's mana with a Black Sun's Zenith for one, but he kept laying lands, while Garruk kept laying Wolves.

Andreas Pranoto stares death in the face. Well, Neeman in the face, anyway.

Snapcaster Mage – Tiago Chan waited a long, long time to see his reward for winning the 2007 Magic Invitational become a reality, and it was no doubt well worth the wait. Snapcaster Mage played an important role in Jeremy Neeman's winning Blue/Black Control deck this weekend, and he wasn't the only one embracing the power of the widely sought after 2-drop. Blue/White decks were flashing back Mana Leaks, Blue/Black decks were flashing back Doom Blades, and Solar Flare decks were flashing back anything they could get their hands on. Tiago Chan, we love your work.

Liliana of the Veil – while the number of Lilianas getting played in both Blue/Black decks, and Solar Flare decks varied from player to player, there's no question that this new streamlined version leaves the original in the dust. She may not seem as flashy as some other Planeswalkers, but as the turns pass, her sheer inexorable power becomes clear. Liliana will see plenty of play in the years to come.

Garruk Relentless – Speaking of flashy Planeswalkers, Garruk breaks (and flips) the mould. Both Tim Fondum's and Andreas Pranoto's top 4 decks used Garruk to pump out a steady stream of Wolves, putting pressure on the various control decks they faced this weekend.

Geistflame – This one's a little subtle, but the Mono Red decks have been loving themselves a little Geistflame action this weekend. Lightning Bolt it sure aren't, but you don't have to look far in the format to see a wealth of tasty, soft, one-toughness targets. And then there's enabling Bloodthirst, Geistflame does it all. (As long as your definition of "all" is as loose as mine.)

Neeman nonchalantly fell to 11 and passed, this time with four mana open. The Snapcaster Mage he represented failed to appear, with all the creatures getting through unmolested. Neeman fell to seven, still with nothing on his turn. Fondum attacked, and Neeman Doom Bladed the Emissary, taking two and falling to a precarious five life.

Fondum went for a second Thrun, but Neeman simply Thought, Thought Twice, then flashed in a Snapcaster Mage and re-cast his Geth's Verdict. Then, for good measure, he untapped and summoned a Consecrated Sphinx. Fondum didn't cast anything for the next two turns. The rest, as Holmes would say, was elementary*.

Both players mulliganed to five, and joked about going to zero to increase the tension. They kept their hands and began the last game of Grand Prix: Brisbane. Fondum began the game with a turn three Thrun. Neeman only had a Think Twice, and no action on his turn.

The first Sphinx was short-lived, as Fondum had an Oblivion Ring, but Neeman had drawn another, and the 4/6 flier started to draw him the gas he needed to pull ahead. Fondum summoned a Wurmcoil Engine.